Christmas Show and Sale: Art, Crafts, Gifts

Christmas gifts, beautiful gift boxes

It’s Christmas show time again, and we are having our annual Christmas sale. It is richer and more interesting than ever before. I have no doubt, everyone can find something great, whether it’s a Christmas decoration, nice, hearty, one of a kind gift, painting, card or gift certificate. Gift certificates for classes and workshops are available every day, not only during the sale.

You can enjoy and possibly purchase more than 200 paintings and crafted gift items.

All Christmas show decorations and gifts are crafted in the gallery and range in style from traditional to modern and trendy, both, regarding the color scheme and design. We have used mostly nature materials: fir and pine cones, apple-tree and maple branches, spruce tree branches and also some paints, glitter, tissue paper and interesting containers. You should definitely check out the one of a kind gift boxes, note books, diaries and photo albums.

We are offering only original paintings and art, including three-dimensional acrylic nature paintings in subtle and soothing colors.

Variety of Christmas cards can be ordered from the Fine Art America site: Inese Poga’s art collections

Please have a look at some gifts and decorations for sale.

Traditional Christmas colors

Crafted Christmas show gift boxes

Gold and red

Red and green: tissue paper roses and glitter on branches

Christmas gift box, very elegant and delicate, matches the Christmas decoration very well.

Celebrating the light and warmth with beautiful things in beautiful settings: fun and pleasure!

Festive and uplifting, sparkle and shine: Christmas settings

I hope you enjoyed the decorating ideas!

Create art and make your soul sing

Art classes and workshops for adults

Don’t allow routine blocking your intentions and create

We have our routine duties, we have to make our living, but how about the soul? What are we doing to feed not only the body, but also our soul? Some people express themselves playing music or dancing, some are writing poetry or stories, and some love to create. Most people never forget to devote time, money and huge efforts in order the physical body stayed young and healthy. When it comes to mind, it is a completely different picture.

Art is special

I don’t think anything compares with the wonderful feeling when I have a white blank canvas or sheet of watercolor paper in front of me, and I’m about to put down the first lines or brush strokes. Creation is straight the opposite to consumption, and I really have deep respect for people who love to create and give something to others instead of just taking and using. Create art: it is a rewarding way of self-expression. It takes away from our daily troubles and routines, and this time is never wasted.

Need for self-care and relaxation 

Adults need relaxing self-care time even more than teens and kids. My art classes always bring together people of all ages and all walks of life who create something for themselves. We are experiencing the miracle of creative makeover every time when we have an art class. Participants come with all kinds of mental and physical conditions sometimes, but all of them report feeling better after an artistic workout.

Art classes and painting workshops for adults

We had busy October and November. I met many interesting people,  who definitely were amazed by my art and wanted to learn doing something artistic for themselves, they all love new things and create them. I gave many adult and teen art classes, and my November workshop was also successful.

Article about me in women’s life style magazine

We were discussing the magazine article which will be published in Laura’s online site devoted to making lives of women richer and more satisfying. This article will describe my personal and art concepts, I will also share my experience living in Europe and in Canada. It is very important to provide women with their personal space and breathing space because women are frequently the ones who have never a moment specifically for themselves.

Participants of art classes report life improvements

I had extremely talented and diligent students. They created fairly large paintings to decorate their living and dining rooms along with small nature scenes. All participants told they gained a great experience regards painting and especially acrylic painting and also became better people who had no more signs of depression and troubled mind. Some recovered from anxiety. Art classes always work as meditation with color and shape since creativity takes over our mind and cleans it.

Decorate with your own art

We spent approximately 6 hours doing large decorative floral paintings. No doubt, these paintings will make every space look more attractive and inviting.

Art workshops: one time painting events

I am running workshops once or twice a month. This time, we decided to paint winter landscape, and we think the flower painting would be a great subject for the next workshop. Workshop takes 2 hours in average, and we got done the entire painting during these hours. I’m providing with template to speed up the drawing and planning part. We have more time for application of paint when using a template.

Age doesn’t matter

We had one younger participant, but she left a bit earlier because she already had done two winter and spruce tree paintings with watercolor. Watercolor is a faster medium, especially when painting winter and snow, many areas can be left white. Winter creek is a fantastic subject for any beginning artist.

Please, join us for live art classes and workshops: Sign up here

Moving to a new studio space: Moving to a new art studio

How to become an artist: 5 stages you can count on

Studio and art gallery: Art for sale

Finally, you can stay in touch easily, finding my studio on Facebook: Inese Poga’s art studio

Fall Art Show at Camp Samac: Sunday

Fall art festival at Camp Samac

Wide variety of art

The Fall Art Festival at Camp Samac not only allows one to explore a wide variety of different artists works, but also gathers many hundreds of people interested in art, crafts and creative achievements. It was not surprising that the majority of artists presented smaller size art, art prints and art cards. Even though, there was a fairly large crowd of visitors at some art displays throughout the show, the most buying activity involved smaller, more inexpensive original pieces and art prints. The impression was that the original art was loved and admired, but not that much purchased.

More than 70 artists

However, taking into account the large number of participating artists (71) and the even larger number of art presented, I must say this event had great success and resulted in many nice transactions for artists and gorgeous acquisitions for art lovers. Certainly, less expensive art and art prints sold faster. Many people were just enjoying the look of art, as well as having conversations and discussions with artists.

Great interaction

We had many thoughtful conversations and discussions, but I only could get a few pictures from this event since photo taking was not allowed. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see what other artists had created. I was new to this event (I’m new even to Canada), and I had no idea what and how should be displayed. My spot wasn’t that good, quite far in the back part, but most visitors crowded around food space and front parts. My paintings were really  eye-catching, and I couldn’t complain about lack of interest.

The two panels which I could use.

Great art show

I was very satisfied with this art festival. This was a great opportunity to get better understanding of the local art scene, make friends, get to know other artists, and sell some paintings. 3 of my originals were sold, and I thought that was great because I did not bother with printing cards or getting art prints.

Fall Art Festival at Camp Samac: Friday

Fall art festival, Camp Samac

I always plan ahead, but I often find myself balancing on knife-edge to meet all deadlines and to make all things happen. Generally speaking, I cannot avoid some rush with whatever I’m trying to do. Getting ready for art shows always involves some frantic adding of last brush strokes to earlier created paintings, a sudden new painting idea just the night before the show; and, yes, that’s me typing the art sales sheets and printing labels just half an hour before I leave to set up the show. This time, Fall Art Festival at Camp Samac.

Setting up show space

This is such a happy moment when the provided space is set up. It seems like nothing to it, and I really have to wonder, how could it take so incredibly much time and efforts? I decided to paint mostly trees this year, and when I stopped by, I found out that 3 paintings were already sold. Great news.

Sold tree paintings

Why trees? I find them extremely human, having so much of character which people are often lacking. I don’t think there can be ever painted too many trees or flowers, these silent guards of our living space.

Lovely white birch and maples

Birches are stubbornly maintaining their white coats regardless of seasons. It’s not surprising they have found reflection in so many poems, paintings and stories. How to stay white is the lesson they teach. We can respect maples for knowing how to lose their beauty in such a gracious and marvelous way, there are no regrets, just sadness for rapidly disappearing magnificence.

Maple road, sold

This maple road painting was done in my rich acrylic texture technique. Paintings of this type change colors as the surrounding light does, and depending on the viewing angle, foliage feels almost touchable at some moments. This painting was also sold straight after I put it out. These paintings exist only as single originals since no prints or similar reproductions can be made, and that’s what I like about them.

Finding inspiration in poppy fields

Poppies and other paintings

It is not a secret that some themes and subjects are easier to paint, and especially, if the artist is just starting out. Poppy fields or wildflower meadow definitely make great subject. After engaging for a few classes in two landscape paintings, we decided to paint poppies in a landscape, just for fun and for the love of color. So, we created background for poppy fields, then added flowers on top of that and finally adjusted some values.

This theme was liked a lot, and all students started their paintings without any complications, extreme difficulties or unpleasant surprises.

Everybody told, they really enjoyed this painting and subject.

The excitement was so great that these paintings got finished by students during the following class, which was the last class before I left for vacation.

Adult group painting poppies

Students are using artist grade acrylic paints, so, these paintings will last. We had a chance to check out paintings done with students grade paints, and colors had lost they brightness in just 3 years. We are referencing drawings, pictures, and sometimes real flowers to help our imagination with color choices and composition.

Students have freedom to choose whatever color or its shade they prefer, in order to create their paintings in a way they love it.